Enzymes have been used within the detergent industry as part of washing formulations for more than 30 years. Proteases are from a commercial perspective the most relevant enzyme in such formulations, but other enzymes including lipases, amylases, cellulases, hemicellulases or mixtures of enzymes are also often used.
The search for proteases with appropriate properties include both discovery of naturally occurring proteases, i.e., so called wild-type proteases but also alteration of well-known proteases by, e.g., genetic manipulation of the nucleic acid sequence encoding said proteases. One family of proteases, which is often used in detergents, is the subtilases. This family has been further grouped into 6 different sub-groups (Siezen and Leunissen, 1997, Protein Science 6: 501-523). One of these sub-groups, the Subtilisin family was further divided into the subgroups of “true subtilisins (I-S1)”, “high alkaline proteases (I-S2)” and “intracellular proteases”. Siezen and Leunissen identified also some proteases of the subtilisin family, but not belonging to any of the subgroups. The true subtilisins include proteases such as subtilisin BPN′ (BASBPN), subtilisin Carlsberg (ALCALASE®, Novozymes NS) (BLSCAR), mesentericopeptidase (BMSAMP) and subtilisin DY (BSSDY). The high alkaline proteases include proteases such as subtilisin 309 (SAVINASE®, Novozymes A/S) (BLSAVI) subtilisin PB92 (BAALKP), subtilisin BL or BLAP (BLSUBL), subtilisin 147 (ESPERASE®, NOVOZYMES A/S), subtilisin Sendai (BSAPRS) and alkaline elastase YaB. Outside this grouping of the subtilisin family a further subtilisin subgroup was recently identified on the basis of the 3-D structure of its members, the TY145 like subtilisins. The TY145 like subtilisins include proteases such as TY145 (a subtilase from Bacillus sp. TY145, NCIMB 40339 described in WO 92/17577) (BSTY145), subtilisin TA41 (BSTA41), and subtilisin TA39 (BSTA39). The JP170 subtilase type was first described as protease A in WO 88/01293 to Novozymes A/S disclosing four strains producing this type of protease. Later U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,701 to Novozymes Biotech disclosed the amino acid sequence of JP170 and the DNA sequence encoding it. The patents JP 7-62152 and JP 4197182 to Lion Corp. disclosed the alkaline protease Yb produced by Bacillus sp. Y that is homologous to JP170 and the DNA sequence encoding Yb. Bacillus sp. Y also produces the protease Ya (Geneseq P entry AAR26274). In addition U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,227 to Kao Corp. discloses physical characteristics as well as DNA and polypeptide sequences of alkaline proteases KP43, KP1790 and KP9860 which are also homologous to JP170. Recently genetic engineered variants of the KP43, KP9860 and Ya proteases among others were disclosed in EP 1 209 233, which also disclosed protease A-2 from Bacillus sp. NCIB12513. Kao Corp. also disclosed the proteases KSM-KP9865 and A-1 in US 2004/0072321. Other known proteases belonging to this group are Protease E-1 derived from Bacillus sp. strain No. D6 (FERM P-1592), JP7407101, Protease SD521 derived from Bacillus sp. strain SD-521 (FERM BP-11162), JP9108211, and protease A1 derived from NCIB12289, WO 88/01293 to Novozymes A/S.